Two Generations of Rovers

Wheel tracks from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity descending and departing the "Cape Tribulation" segment of Endeavour Crater's rim are visible in this April 21, 2017, view from the rover's Pancam. T...

Mars Exploration Rover parachute deployment testing in the world's largest wind tunnel at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif.

This artist's concept animation depicts key events in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, including launch; cruise; entry, descent & landing; egress; and, surface operations.

Team members reflect on Spirit's six-years of roving Mars.

Dr. Wayne Lee, chief engineer for development of the Mars Exploration Rover's descent and landing systems proudly waves a broom, indicating a clean martian sweep.

Protected by large airbags, the lander falls away from the parachute, landing safely on Mars.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this westward view from atop a low plateau where Sprit spent the closing months of 2007.

Taken on June 10, 2018 (the 5,111th Martian day, or sol, of the mission) this “noisy,” incomplete image was the last data NASA's Opportunity rover sent back from Perseverance Valley on Mars. 

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded this stereo view of a crater informally named "Freedom 7" shortly before the 50th anniversary of the first American in space: astronaut Alan Shepa...

This close-up view of a target rock called "Last Chance" was acquired by the microscopic imager on the arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on March 3, 2004, during the 39th Martian day...

On Earth, a fast runner takes a few hours to complete a marathon. On Mars, it's taken 11 years. NASA's Opportunity rover crossed that finish line in 2015.

"Marathon Valley" on Mars opens to a view across Endeavour Crater in this enhanced-color version of a scene from the Pancam of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The scene merges many expos...

A dust storm continues to envelop the Red Planet and Curiosity’s labs are back in action.

Find out how the Mars Exploration Rover team traversed the Red Planet, examined the diverse environment and transformed our understanding of Mars.

In this navigation camera raw image, NASA's Opportunity Rover looks back over its own tracks on Aug. 4, 2010. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the Mars E...

Download a PDF of the Spirit and Opportunity Lithograph.

This false-color panoramic image, taken on martian day, or sol, 561 (Aug. 22, 2005) by the Opportunity rover, shows the nature of the outcrop rocks that the rover is encountering on its southward j...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this view after beginning to ascend the northwestern slope of "Solander Point" on the western rim of Endeavour Crater.

These side-by-side images were taken by the Pan Camera (Pancam) on NASA's Opportunity rover. They're actually the same image; the left version is how the image originally came down, due to data dro...

After bouncing to a stop, the lander's petals unfold and the Mars Exploration Rover drives onto the surface of Mars.

These views of Mars are just a small sampling from the 124,000 images returned by the Spirit rover. (Audio: music only)

Results from Opportunity and Curiosity show Mars could have supported life.

Women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory pose for a photo in mission control in honor of Women in Science Day.

In this photo, engineers are preparing the rover for vibration testing to ensure that it can undergo the rigors of launch and entry into the martian atmosphere. The rovers are scheduled to launch n...

As Opportunity crept farther into "Endurance Crater," the dune field on the crater floor appears even more dramatic, as seen in this false-color image.